On Tuesday night, Erik ten Hag was getting closer to being Manchester United’s next manager and it’s reported he has verbally agreed to the managerial job.
The search for a permanent replacement for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who was fired in November, has lasted almost two months. Mauricio Pochettino of Paris Saint-Germain, Luis Enrique of Spain, and Julen Lopetegui of Sevilla were also considered. United, on the other hand, are willing to settle on Ten Hag, who is seeking to win his third Dutch crown this season with Ajax.
The United leadership will meet with their Ajax counterparts in the coming days to finalize a release agreement, which will include a £1.7 million compensation package.
He will take over from Ralf Rangnick, who was appointed interim manager after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was fired.
Rangnick appears to have failed to guide United to a top-four finish, therefore Ten Hag’s stay with the club could begin in the Europa League or outside of Europe, making it more difficult to recruit players in the summer.
Mauricio Pochettino, the former Tottenham and current Paris Saint-Germain manager, had been the other front-runner to take over at United, but it appears that he has been beaten to the role.
Ten Hag has made an impression with Ajax since taking over in 2017, having previously worked as the second-team manager at Bayern Munich under Pep Guardiola.
In 2019, the 52-year-old led Ajax to the Champions League semi-finals, where they were defeated by Spurs thanks to a dramatic late Lucas Moura goal.
When Ten Hag become command, he will be faced with a massive task.
United fans are still angry about the Glazers’ ownership of the club, and many believe that recapturing the grandeur of Sir Alex Ferguson’s era will be impossible unless the Americans sell up.
Ten Hag will undoubtedly want to depart Ajax on good terms, and a domestic double may help him accomplish just that.